Partnership with CVU NOLA Brings Color and Themed Art to Convention Center Boulevard
NEW ORLEANS – Community Visions Unlimited (CVU NOLA), in partnership with the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, has unveiled four newly painted utility boxes along Convention Center Boulevard, each with different New Orleans-themed artwork.
Seeking to add more color and art to Convention Center Boulevard as well as the Pedestrian Park, Convention Center representatives reached out to CVU NOLA about painting the utility boxes along Convention Center Boulevard. After some consultation, facility representatives and CVU NOLA settled on concepts which featured staples of New Orleans culture, including jazz music, brass instruments, the iconic streetlamp designs, and the classic riverboats that run along the Mississippi River. With the concepts finalized, CVU NOLA asked local artists registered with the organization to provide concept renderings for the art that would be painted on the boxes.
The final artworks were then selected via a blind process to ensure fairness and transparency. The winning artists were contacted and assigned a utility box to paint.
The four utility boxes can be found at the following locations:
• Convention Center Blvd. and Girod St. (Riverboat painted by Linda LeBoeuf)
• Convention Center Blvd. and Julia St. (Shotgun Houses painted by Jessica Normington)
• Convention Center Blvd. and John Churchill Chase St. (Saxophone painted by Heather Mattingly)
• Convention Center Blvd. and Gaienne St. (Crescent Moon painted by Heather Mattingly)
“These artworks not only embody the spirit of New Orleans, they also allow us to showcase the incredible talent of local artists and our commitment to the beatification of our city,” said Michael J. Sawaya, Convention Center President and CEO. “We are proud to have partnered with CVU NOLA to bring these creative expressions to life, transforming your every-day utility box into colorful symbols of our city’s unique heritage.”
Community Visions Unlimited was founded in 1994 and has assisted in hundreds of local beautification projects, including 334 utility box paintings in New Orleans, the West Bank, River Ridge, and St. Bernard.
Jessica Normington, an artist with Community Visions Unlimited, paints the utility box on the Convention Center Boulevard/Julia Street intersection.
A utility box concept by Linda LeBoeuf, an artist with Community Visions Unlimited.
This artwork was painted on the utility box at the Convention Center Boulevard/Girod Street Intersection.